There are more than 900 insurance companies in America that offer health plans. With those numbers, it can be tricky to find one that is right for you. Just like any industry, there will be some agents who are not interested in your welfare as much as they are with their commission.

Before you even try to look for “insurance agents near me,” ask yourself the following questions:

• How healthy are you?
• Do you have a chronic condition that prevents you from leading a healthy lifestyle?
• Are you taking maintenance medication?
• How often do you visit a doctor in a year?
• How much can you budget on your health insurance?
• What are your preferences when it comes to health coverage?
• Do you have company health insurance? How much does it cover?

Answering those questions will give you a reasonably good idea of the type of insurance that is right for you.

Ultimately, you may select one of the following:

Traditional plans — These are health insurance coverage that will take care of most expenses when you get hospitalized. It is crucial since the average American spends almost $4,000 for each day of hospital stay. The insurance company will shoulder the cost after deductibles and out-of-pocket payments. In most instances, you only pay 20% of the total expenses.

Disability Plans — Disability insurance will cover the cost in case you miss time off work due to an injury. It will also repay you if you have a long-term disability and could no longer gain employment.

High-deductible plans — They demand a lower premium, but you do need to pay higher deductibles. Talk to your insurance agent if this is the best plan for your situation.

Managed care — Health maintenance organizations and preferred provider organizations are among the entities included in this plan. You may pay a lower premium and, in some instances, it does not require a co-pay cost. However, you cannot choose your doctors since physicians only recognized it within the closed network.

Conversely, before you type “insurance agents near me,” on the Google search bar, prepare your questions first. In that way, you do not forget anything when it is time to talk to the agent:

How much is the premium, and who is entitled to get the benefits? What are the medical services included in your plan?

What type of plan is ideal for your situation? What can they recommend? Is the fee-for-service ideal when it comes to your budget, or should you consider a managed plan? What are the pros and cons of each service?

Which is better for you, a deductible or a co-pay? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each option?

Will your insurance cover the medical costs for your spouse or children? What if your children are already of age or if they move out of the house? What if they already have a job?

Can you use my insurance for regular medical check-ups? What about maintenance medication, do you get reimbursements?

What about if you have a pre-existing condition?

Do you need to call the doctor for an appointment, or you can walk in for a check-up?

What if you are on a trip overseas and you are in a medical emergency, can you use your insurance then?

These are some of the questions you ask your agent. Of course, it is best to do your due diligence and go online.

A group, health insurance policy, refers to health insurance provided by an employer to its employees. Nowadays, almost all companies offer group health insurance. Two major reasons are behind it:

• Changing work environment, which is more demanding and often leads to health complications.
• Increasing healthcare costs. No employer would like their employee to go bankrupt trying to stay healthy.

Group health insurance is a key employee benefit that may provide health cover to the employee and his/her family members. Though companies are not mandated to provide corporate insurance, it is viewed as a necessary perk and adds to the prestige of the enterprise.

Though, pretty much necessary, and standard, group policies do offer certain unique benefits which can be useful for the employees.

Why Offer Group Health to Employees?

You may be wondering why companies take the trouble to provide group cover to their staff it is, after all, an expense to them. Well, there are many reasons:

• Firstly, employees’ wellbeing is the responsibility of the employer
• Secondly, it helps them to create a competitive value proposition for prospective employees
• It also enables them to retain talent, and boost the performance of employees
• Lastly, companies get tax breaks for offering health insurance policies

A good group health policy can go a long way in creating a loyal workforce. There are times when employees accept better health benefits instead of higher remuneration. Moreover, a group cover makes employees feel taken care of.

The Hidden Benefits of Group Health Policy

• Group Health Insurance Is Cheaper

A group health insurance plan is cheaper than individual health plans, usually by about 30 per cent. Premiums are lower about the sum assured, compared to individual health insurance policies. Therefore, even if you are sharing the premium with your employer, it’s still less than your individual health cover.

• Low Premiums Does Not Mean Fewer Benefits

Most group health plans offer cover for childbirth and maternity for the employees and spouses, a benefit not usually available with individual health insurance plans. More than that, treatments of certain critical illnesses (again not usually covered by individual health plans) is available under group health insurance.

• Group Health Covers Pre-Existing Conditions

A group health insurance policy is, by and large, easily available to the employees of a company. In most cases, employees need not go for medical check-ups, and the policy kicks in from the day you join the company. The best thing about group health cover is that it in many cases, it covers pre-existing medical conditions of the employees. In most cases, employees are not denied health coverage based on their age or past medical history.

• No Co-Pay

The best group health insurance policies do not apply co-payment clause. Meaning employees are eligible for free treatment up to the cover limit of the policy. However, this may increase the premium a little, but if you seek to offer the best to your workforce, this is not at all expensive.

• Convert Group Plan to Individual Plan

Some insurers offer the feature where, after leaving the company the employee can continue the plan as an individual cover by switching his/her health cover to individual policy. However, this may increase the premium cost, it is still better than going out in the rain without the medical insurance umbrella, especially if you have family members covered under the same policy.

There can be many other things you should know about the health policy you can offer to your employees. For instance, did you know that corporate cover is a master plan provided by companies and it includes all employees in the organization under the same umbrella? You can include dependent parents of the employees under the policy as well (if your workforce values this benefit).

In the end, corporate health insurance is an excellent provision to offer to your staff. However, you’ll need to balance between the benefits and premium payable to make it sustainable over a longer period.

How Can the Employer Select the Best for The Employees?

There are more than 20 insurance companies that specialize in providing corporate health policies. It may not always be possible for the organizations to compare and research about all of them and figure out the best. Online corporate insurance advisors such as SecureNow fill this gap very efficiently. They can help companies in analysing their needs, decide the right cover amount and manage the policies after buying.

Out of the many important expenses in our daily lives, health related expenses can often turn out to be very expensive and cannot be overlooked at all. The best way to handle this issue is to have a health insurance policy. Medical insurance can be a life saver when you have fallen seriously ill all of a sudden and cannot afford the huge expenses of the doctors and the hospitals. There are variety of insurance policies to choose from. It can be quite confusing to choose the one that you need as per your situation. Health insurance comparison can help you make an informed choice.

Medical insurance can cover all your hospital costs and medical treatment expenses. Whether it is an ambulance, or medicines, hospital room, medical tests during illness or accident, health insurance gives you the peace of mind all the time. Therefore, insuring your health and paying premium every year till a certain limit, your medical expenses would be covered by the company.

An economic health insurance can be of great help when you fall ill or meet with an accident and there is not enough money to pay for your medical expenses. Browse through the Internet and get one affordable insurance cover that suits as per your requirements. You should invest in your health so that you do not have to look back in despair at critical times.

Browse through the Internet and you will find a lot of insurance companies providing different quotes. You have to search, compare and analyze the insurance policy that is beneficial to you. It will be wise to go for that insurance policy that covers all your medical expenses including your routine checks up to your doctors and getting routine tests done. Plan your finances properly so that the insurance premium does not become a burden to you in the later stage.

While going through different insurance policies, check out all the advantages, disadvantages and feature of the insurance cover. You should have a fair idea of the amount of coverage, monthly premium, deductible amount, the position of the company and its customer service. This way, you will understand all the benefits of the insurance cover as well as the company.

There are many websites that do an online comparison of different insurance policies. This will help you to select the best health insurance or medical insurance policy of your choice. For availing the benefits of the best health or medical insurance policy of your choice, make fine comparison of the features of diverse insurance policies.

Know more about Health Insurance at: http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Health/HealthInsurance.shtml

Know more about Medical Insurance at: http://www.medicare.gov/default.aspx